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Mother Ventures is looking at moms as the ‘economic engine’
As families across the U.S. prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, Allison Stern is looking beyond the single day of appreciation.
Stern just closed $10 million in commitments for her debut early-stage fund, Mother Ventures, which focuses exclusively on the mother as a consumer.
“In the U.S., moms are responsible for 85% of household purchases and have $2.4 trillion in spending power,” Stern (pictured below) told TechCrunch. “The numbers say that moms are the buyers, and they really are a very unique economic engine.”
Stern, a mother of two, is tapping into that spending clout by backing startups that reflect the needs of modern mothers. Since launching Mother Ventures two years ago, she has already deployed $4 million into 13 startups. Her portfolio includes Coral Care, which allows instant booking of pediatric specialists for children with developmental delays, and Tin Can, a popular Wi-Fi-enabled “landline” designed as a retro-style phone for kids.
Before launching her own fund, she co-founded Tubular Labs, a social video analytics startup she helped grow to $25 million in annual recurring revenue prior to its 2023 acquisition by private equity and served as an operating partner at The Chernin Group (TCG), a consumer-focused growth equity firm.
Part of TCG’s investment thesis included backing companies serving ‘overlooked unique audiences with spending power,’ such as Barstool Sports, which originally targeted Boston sports fans, she said.
When Stern set out to launch her own fund, she identified mothers as a similarly underserved market with the potential to deliver superior returns. “I felt like motherhood is the ultimate niche that’s not really a niche,” she said,
Stern convinced Tony James, the former president and COO of Blackstone and current board chair of Costco, to back Mother Ventures as an anchor LP. Other backers of the fund include Jessica Rolph, founder of the child development startup Lovevery, as well as female executives from Netflix, Rent the Runway, and Sesame Street, she said.
She argues that Millennial and Gen Z mothers expect a different set of products from on-demand transportation services such as Zum, to ready-meal delivery from DoorDash, and fintech tools like Greenlight that allow parents to instantly fund a child’s debit card.
“We want healthy things. We want subscription things. We want digital communities,” she said.
However, Stern doesn’t want her fund to be perceived as one that invests only in parenting tech. “It’s a consumer fund, and we focus on the mom as the consumer allows us to be wider in our bets,” she said.
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“Give Eguavoen Time” — Osahon Urges Patience as Super Falcons Begin Crucial LA 2028 Mission Against Comoros
FC Robo Queens proprietor Emmanuel Osahon has called for patience with interim Super Falcons head coach Augustine Eguavoen, insisting the experienced tactician needs sufficient time to impose his ideas as Nigeria begins its qualification campaign for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Eguavoen’s first competitive assignment with the women’s national team comes on Friday when the Super Falcons face Comoros in the first leg of their second-round Olympic qualifier at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo.
Osahon, who previously backed the Nigeria Football Federation’s decision to appoint Eguavoen, believes expectations must be balanced with the reality that the coach has only had a short period to work with his players.
He warned against judging the new technical arrangement solely on immediate performances, stressing that implementing a fresh philosophy and developing understanding within the squad requires time.
Eguavoen was appointed on an interim basis in September and is assisted by Christopher Danjuma, Ayisat Yusuf and Olatunji Baruwa.
His preparations have also been complicated by player availability. Twenty-one players were in camp by Tuesday, while Asisat Oshoala and Ashleigh Plumptre were among those unavailable for the tie.
Oluwatosin Demehin and Flourish Sabastine were also ruled out, while youngsters Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Favour Nkwocha were released to the Flamingos.
Despite those challenges, Nigeria will be expected to overcome Comoros, who reached the second round following an extraordinary 30-0 aggregate victory over Sudan. Both legs will be staged in Ikenne on October 9 and 13 because Comoros do not have a CAF-approved venue.
The Super Falcons face a lengthy road to Los Angeles, with Nigeria needing to negotiate four knockout rounds to secure one of Africa’s two Olympic tickets. Victory over Comoros would set up a third-round meeting with either Morocco or DR Congo.
For Osahon, therefore, the immediate objective is qualification, but the bigger picture is allowing Eguavoen to build.
His message ahead of Friday is simple: demand results from the Super Falcons, but give their new coach enough time to create the team capable of delivering them consistently.
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